Green Real Estate Appraiser

The Best Time to Sell a House, According to a New Study

Posted on April 23, 2016 | Leave a comment

In a new study, researchers at Zillow found that homes listed between May 1 through May 15 sold, on average, around 18.5 days faster than homes that weren’t listed during that timeframe. Homes that sold in the first half of May were also purchased for about 1 percent more than the average listing, which translates to a premium of about $1,700.

The spring housing season kicked off this year with a record low number of homes for sale. According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of homes for sale in December 2015 was down nearly 4 percent from the same time last year, while the number of homes sold was up nearly 8 percent. Even as new listings came on the market around President’s Day — the weekend real estate agents recognize as the start of the spring housing season — the inventory was still smaller than in years past.

“There’s a low supply of homes for sale this year, which has increased buyer competition,” Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist, told The Huffington Post. “Therefore, home shoppers who start their search in early spring may not be able to secure a house as quickly or easily as they’d hoped. By May they’ll be anxious to find a home before the next school year — and will be more willing to pay a premium to close the deal.”

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Choosing the right-sized solar energy system for your home

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Leave a comment

solar

Solar energy is growing in popularity, especially as solar equipment prices fall and the cost of electricity continues to rise in most parts of the country.

Let’s assume that you have decided to go solar. The next question you may be asking is “how do I choose the right size solar photovoltaic (PV) system for my home?”

Will solar add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your solar value needs.

In addition to determining how much solar energy you can produce where you live, there are a number of other factors to consider, such as the amount of electricity you use, the size, orientation and design of your roof, and the state/municipal/utility policies that affect the cost of going solar.

Ultimately, a qualified solar installer will need to come to your home and go over the particularities of your situation with you, but it’s always a good idea to have a better understanding of the situation before this stage, so that you can follow the discussion and ask the right questions.

Electricity Use

One of the first things to consider is how much electricity you typically use, and how it varies with the seasons. For example, do you have an air conditioner that runs at full blast in the summer, or do you heat your home with electric baseboard heaters during the cold winter months?

The most accurate way to calculate how much electricity you use is to dig up your utility bills for the past 12 months (or longer if the past year was unseasonably warm or cold). If you don’t have your bills on hand, you can use our Power Consumption Calculator to estimate your electricity usage.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

5 unexpected things that will drive you crazy when you renovate

Posted on April 21, 2016 | Leave a comment

1. Tradesmen will see you at your best and your worst

You might start out getting up early and making an effort but after months of having tradies in every room of the home from 7am, privacy mishaps will occur.

You will be caught possibly, but not definitely: on the toilet, in your pyjamas having just woken up with a creased face and mad hair, bra-less and/or wrapped in a towel.

Your home is no longer your own so just get used to all the extra people and relax into it. If you can afford it, move out and save everyone the embarrassment.

2. Marital stress will increase and you will lose it with each other at least once

Renovations are stressful and require great patience and tolerance for things not going to plan and vast quantities of paperwork.

Everyone has a tipping point and after a fair few weeks of chaos sharing one toilet with the tradies and having no sink, my moment came after spotting my son’s dirty shoes in with the (supposedly) clean dinner plates.

There were expletives and possibly tears but I can’t remember too much due to the red fog of crazy that came over me and then I dropped a full box of uncooked spaghetti on the floor and with that, we all went out to the pub for dinner. Again.